Los Angeles Kings Are Running out of Time to Engineer Turnaround

Well, they haven’t woken up yet.

General manager Dean Lombardi tried to shock the Los Angeles Kings’ system by waiving center Mike Richards last week, but the move hasn’t yielded positive results.

The team has mustered a 1-2 record since the decision and scored just four goals to the opposition’s 10 in that span.

Through 50 regular-season games, the Kings have proven incapable of starting well or performing on the road. They’re 2-5-3 in their last 10 outings and drifting further away from the playoff picture with every passing tilt.

A squad that appeared indomitable only months ago may finally have more adversity on its plate than it can handle.

Blue-Line Woes

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L.A. has forged a reputation built on stingy defense in recent years. However, the team has not lived up to its billing this season. 

After finishing first in goals-against average in 2013-14, the Kings currently rank 15th in the league in this department. Rather than limiting opponents to perimeter shots, the squad has suffered from multiple positional breakdowns and lousy puck management.

Under head coach Darryl Sutter, this team has never conceded so many high-quality chances. Excluding Robyn Regehr, the back end’s numbers are hurting across the board:

	2013-14 GA60	2014-15 GA60	2013-14 GF%	2014-15 GF%
Drew Doughty	1.68	2.16	58.1	51.3
Jake Muzzin	1.54	2.31	57.8	44.6
Alec Martinez	1.38	1.78	63.3	60.8
Robyn Regehr	1.83	1.64	47.1	55.9
Matt Greene	1.51	2.43	52.0	45.8

The absence of Slava Voynov is the primary reason for this defensive tumble. While he’s hardly a world-beater, he’s a competent top-four rearguard.

His indefinite suspension has pushed virtually every defenseman on the team into uncomfortable positions. 

Alec Martinez, who is an ideal third-pairing blueliner, has been forced into facing top-sixers on a nightly basis. It hasn’t gone particularly well, as he’s looked more flustered than usual against the forecheck and on the breakout.

The heightened level of competition has taken its toll:

Elsewhere, Brayden McNabb hasn’t found his place on the back end. His physicality is a nice asset, but he struggles with decision-making. His turnover against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday was a real back-breaker:

Though he may well round into a solid defenseman in due time, he’s not there yet and has nevertheless been thrown into the fire.

Matt Greene, who isn’t the quickest or smartest player around, can typically get by with his toughness against low-quality adversaries. That hasn’t been the case in 2014-15, as a less steady pairmate hasn’t allowed him to chase the big hit. 

Also, with Voynov out and Willie Mitchell gone (Florida Panthers), Greene has been leaned on considerably on the penalty kill—and he hasn’t delivered.

On the top pairing, Jake Muzzin has dragged Drew Doughty down all season, committing blunders every other night while cheating for offense. He—and the team—would be better off if he reined in his game and devoted his energy to limiting mistakes.

All of these blemishes add up to an ugly picture. There is no united front—weaknesses permeate the entire the blue-line stable. 

Granting Jamie McBain some more action would help. He boasts the highest goals-for percentage among defensemen and provides much-needed puck-moving ability, yet he is frequently relegated to the press box. LA Kings Insider's Jon Rosen reports he will return to the lineup on Thursday against the Florida Panthers.

With that said, the Kings defense won’t fully recover until key pieces such as Muzzin, Martinez and Greene sharpen up. That possibility grows unlikelier by the day.

These players have been cast in roles they aren't fit to play.

Ultimately, such personnel issues could be too much to overcome.

Top Dogs Floundering

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Anze Kopitar’s poor season has largely flown under the radar.

The two-way center has struggled mightily in every situation other than on the power play—where he’s amassed 44.7 percent of his points compared to 32.9 percent last season.

Viewers focused on black-and-white production may not have noticed how dramatically his three-zone game has fallen off in 2014-15:

Credit: Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com

His goals-for percentage ranks 10th among Kings forwards. L.A. controls a greater share of goals when Richards is on the ice than when Kopitar’s around...and the former was banished to the AHL.

Statistics aside, he’s losing possession of the puck with alarming regularity and needs to tighten up his defensive showings.

If he isn’t going to seize control offensively—that’s not in his nature—then he must offer dominant outings in his end, shutting down the opposition’s stars to give the team a fighting chance.

On the road, where L.A. is ranked 29th, Kopitar has a meager seven points and minus-13 rating in 19 games. Only two of his nine goals have come in the third period or overtime. When the Kings have needed him most, he's fallen short.

Meanwhile, Dustin Brown remains stuck in his seemingly eternal rut. Including the 2013 playoffs, he has managed 64 points in the past 173 contests while his physical game continues to deteriorate. He currently sports a team-worst minus-10 rating as well.

Now, there’s certainly some credence to the notion that his impact extends beyond the scoresheet. However, he’s faltered in areas he once thrived in.

These days, he’s likelier to receive a crunching hit than dole one out:

Brown is no longer a handful in the trenches and has made lousy choices with the puck of late, as his good intentions (creating scoring chances) have often generated awful consequences (turnovers and transition for the other team).

Plays have died on his stick as he rushes into the offensive zone, doubles back and ultimately skates into trouble.

Despite a fair deal of minutes alongside strong puck-possession figures such as Kopitar and Justin Williams, Brown only ranks ninth among forwards in Corsi percentage. He’s also posted his worst defensive campaign since 2009-10 and lowest goals-for percentage since 2007-08.

He’s still skating well and can weave through traffic without a hitch, but more often than not, he’s straining so hard to do something that he accomplishes very little. Not a great example to set as a captain.

One key forward is asleep at the wheel. Another is bouncing off the walls.

Neither is coming through when it counts. That has to change sooner rather than later.

Outlook

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The Kings have played a lifeless brand of hockey in 2014-15. This was punctuated by a sorry 4-0 loss to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night during which the only players to show a pulse were grinders Kyle Clifford and Jordan Nolan.

With its season hanging in the balance, L.A. simply must find a way to get the job done—just as it has in the past three years.

The problem with this "flip the switch" narrative is that Sutter's Kings have never seemed so...apathetic. So far, Richards' demotion has only served to dig a deeper hole for the team. Its defense lies in shambles while its star forwards dip in and out of respectable play.

While salvaging this campaign hinges on a collective reversal of form, the club's leaders must take it upon themselves to light the path back into playoff contention.

They need to right this ship as soon as possible.

Advanced statistics courtesy of Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com.